SARASOTA, Fla. --The Orioles face the Pirates today at Ed Smith Stadium. This will be the first time they face the Buccos after Tuesday’s road game in Bradenton was canceled by strong showers.

Today will mark right-hander Jason Hammel’s Grapefruit League debut. Hammel didn’t pitch in a game during the pitchers’ first rotation, instead throwing an indoor simulated bullpen session on Tuesday at the Ed Smith Stadium complex.

Coming out of that session, Hammel said his right knee, which placed him on the DL twice last season, feels strong. He wanted to get a few extra days to test the knee while running in spikes because he hadn’t done that this offseason and it was something he did following a procedure with his left knee earlier in his career.

I mentioned this in my notes yesterday, buy third baseman Manny Machado is quietly having a strong spring so far. He’s 4-for-7 with three walks, giving him a .700 on-base percentage. It’s obviously a small sample size, but it’s definitely a good sign that Machado is feeling comfortable at the plate in the early weeks of his first real big league camp.

Orioles manager Buck Showalter has sent Machado on the road the past two games, but that’s not unexpected given this is his first big league spring training. Last year, he played in several Grapefruit League games, but he did so as a minor league player brought over from Twin Lakes Park.